Caught in a 燃料 cost 罠（にかける）

By Katie Taylor for MailOnline
Updated: 16:35 BST, 7 January 2008

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Small 商売／仕事s are wasting thousands of 続けざまに猛撃するs on 燃料 costs by failing to keep tabs on their energy 取引，協定s.

誘惑するd by attractive 申し込む／申し出s from 供給者s, many 商売／仕事 owners lose 跡をつける of when they can switch. As a result they are rolled into a new 契約, often with a much higher 関税.

に引き続いて the death of her husband in 2005, Jane Pitt took on the running of Girvan Pet 蓄える／店s in Girvan, Ayrshire.

The electricity 供給（する） 契約 for the shop was automatically 新たにするd by Scottish Gas 商売／仕事, part of British Gas, in 2006. However, Jane became aware of this only when she began to catch up with paperwork.

She says: 'There was so much to do after my husband died, 燃料 法案s were not a 優先. But when I compared them with my 法案s for a four-bedroom house, they were more than three times the cost.'

The new 契約 she was rolled into was a two-year 直す／買収する，八百長をするd-price 取引，協定 at 18.76p per kilowatt hour with a 98.87p daily standing 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金, which put the 年次の cost for electricity at about £1,675. A 競争相手 契約 could have cost her いっそう少なく than half that 量.

'Unfortunately, I realised too late and will have to wait until the 契約 再開 period comes 一連の会議、交渉／完成する again before I can switch,' says Jane.

'I would advise all 商売／仕事 owners to be aware of their 再開 date and shop around.'

商業の gas and electricity 関税s 変化させる enormously, with some 商売／仕事s 支払う／賃金ing more than three times as much as others for the same usage, says Jonathan Elliott, managing director of energy price comparison website makeitcheaper.com.

'Some of the least 競争の激しい-関税s have standingcharges as high as £1.74 a day (£635 a year) when the norm is about 30p a day,' によれば Elliott.

Another problem is that 商売／仕事s often have to give notice to move 供給者. The notice period window can be as 狭くする as one week in the year, with each 供給者 having a different 始める，決める of 支配するs to 終結させる,' says Elliott.

Philip Davies, director of energy 監視者 Ofgem, says: 'The difference it makes for even the smallest of 商売／仕事s to spend a few minutes shopping around equates to thousands of 続けざまに猛撃するs a year.'